The Muslim Brotherhood’s Final Card?
Al-Monitor’s coverage of the bloodshed in Egypt.
As this article is posted, approximately 700 Egyptians have reportedly been killed and more than 4,000 injured in the bloody confrontation between the Egyptian security forces and the Muslim Brotherhood.
Wael Nawara places the blame for the violence on the “scorched earth” policy of the Muslim Brotherhood, not the Egyptian government, and warns that the conflict is not over:
“While many Brotherhood leaders are safely hiding far from the martyrdom they had so poetically described to their supporters, we should not expect the end of this conflict any time soon. The Muslim Brotherhood elements all over the country are playing what could perhaps be their final cards. Spreading chaos and pushing the country into civil war. Toward that end, they are bringing out all their tricks. The sectarian card started with burning churches and Christian missionary schools, attacking shops and Christians' homes in Upper Egypt, hoping to start wide sectarian battles. Another important card is the collapse of security. To achieve that, Muslim Brotherhood members and Islamists have managed so far to storm several police stations, releasing prisoners and stealing arms. The government response was to impose a state of emergency and night curfew for a month.”
Nawara writes that the conflict is not just about "who rules" in Egypt, but rather "'what to rule': the state of Egypt — or the Brotherhood’s state.”
